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FAQs

This really depends on your personal needs. You may well be aware of the changing qualification requirements of your job and just need more information on the demands of a specific course. If this is the case, please take a look at the Community Pharmacy Courses, Hospital Courses and Dispensing Doctors' Courses that are advertised on this website. You can access these web pages by using the menu at the top of each web page or by clicking one of the above links.

It may also be worth finding out if you are eligible to receive credit for prior learning by contacting us. If you have further questions please contact us.

The duration of the course you take will vary but as an example an NVQ Level 2 course will normally take 12 months and an NVQ Level 3 course will last about 24 months. For some of our CPD modules it may be possible to achieve completion in a much shorter period of time. For more details please contact us.

In some cases your previous learning may entitle you to receive credit and therefore reduce the amount of work you need to do to complete your course. Please contact us with any questions regarding credit for prior learning.

This information is provided for the pharmacist from the European Union wanting to register with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) in the United Kingdom as a pharmacy technician.

Generally, the GPhC require that you complete the dispensing and supply of medicines and laws relating to pharmacy modules (Dispensing and Supply of Medicines and Pharmacy Law, Ethics and Practice) before registration can take place, as these areas of legislation have not been studied as part of your original qualification.

These modules can be completed with Buttercups Training by enrolling onto Unit 1 and 2 (order codes: L3Mod01 and L3Mod02) of the Dispensing Academy (Technical Certificate Equivalent). After successful completion of these modules, you will receive a GPhC accredited certificate of unit credit. Please click here to access the order form for the academy.

Before enrolling, please confirm with the GPhC whether you are eligible for registration by completing the Pharmacy Law, Ethics and Practice module. If you have any specific questions, please email training@buttercups.co.uk

Registering as a pharmacy technician

You can apply to register with the GPhC as a pharmacy technician if you:

have GPhC approved qualifications and meet the work experience requirements, or

you are an EEA national with an EEA pharmacy technician qualification.

See the GPhC frequently asked questions site for more information.

Compulsory registration

From 1 July 2011, pharmacy technicians must be registered with the GPhC to practise in England, Scotland and Wales. The register provides protection for patients by ensuring only those qualified, competent and under a duty to maintain high standards can work as pharmacy technicians in Great Britain. Those not registered, but practising as a pharmacy technician or referring to themselves as such, are breaking the law and can be prosecuted.

Are you looking to register?

The two-year transitional period to register without a GPhC-approved qualification is now closed.

Up to 30 June 2011 temporary arrangements called ‘grandparenting’ made registration possible for trained and experienced technicians who did not hold a new, GPhC-approved qualification. This period is now closed. If you have not applied under these arrangements you may have to undertake further qualifications and work experience before you can apply.

Further information on statutory registration can be found in How to register and their frequently asked questions.

Please follow the link to access the GPhC FAQ site before contacting us. Please note that we cannot help you to complete your registration documents nor act as countersigning pharmacists.

We will be available to assist you with your CPD through membership of our Academy, attendance at our master classes or completion of some of our other courses such as Leadership and Management. If you do have any queries which you couldn't find answers to by visiting the GPhC website then email us at registrations@buttercups.co.uk and we will respond within 3 working days.

Career Pathways in the Pharmacy Sector

Please move the cursor and click on the arrows on the image to find out more about each role within the pharmacy.